'Fifty Shades Freed' Release Date, Cast, News & Update: Brant Daugherty Joins Cast As Luke Sawyer

Another actor has been confirmed to join the cast of the highly-anticipated sequel "Fifty Shades Freed". Actor Brant Daugherty from Pretty Little Liars will star as Luke Sawyer in the third instalment of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" series.

Daugherty will take on the role of Luke Sawyer, Anastasia's (Dakota Johnson) bodyguard, according to Entertainment Weekly. Based on the book, Sawyer is hired by Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) to look after Anastasia. This little bit of information was revealed by the author herself, E.L. James on her post on her Twitter account:

Welcome @brantdaugherty to #TeamFifty #FiftyShadesFreed #Sawyer

— E L James (@E_L_James) February 20, 2016

In response, Daugherty expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome of the author by posting this in his Instagram account:

It's official! I'll be joining the cast of #FiftyShadesFreed as Luke Sawyer. Can't wait for you all to see what we have in store... A photo posted by Brant Daugherty (@brantdaugherty) on Feb 20, 2016 at 8:20am PST

Movie News Guide added that Kim Basinger has already signed to play the role of Elena Lincoln, together with Bella Heathcote as Leila Williams and Erick Johnson as Jack Hyde. More so, Arielle Kebbell will bring to life Gia Matteo. He will also act alongside Rita Ora and Luke Grimes.

The next two instalments will be directed by James Foley which will be filmed back to back. Meanwhile, the scripts have been penned by Niall Leonard, E.L. James' husband as reported by Movie News Guide. "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" will be shown in theatres one year apart on Feb. 10, 2017, and Feb. 9, 2018, respectively.

Take a look at a fan-made trailer for "Fifty Shades Darker":